Finland’s Dragon Shield achieves FOC

The Finnish Defence Forces’ Dragon Shield airborne surveillance system has achieved final operational capability (FOC) following the completion of flight testing, Lockheed Martin announced on 9 February.

The final flight test of the system evaluated the aircraft’s compliance to civilian and military airworthiness standards and verified system requirements.

Lockheed Martin modified a C295 cargo aircraft to accommodate a containerised surveillance system that rolls on and off the aircraft. The system features an open, modular architecture to enable the addition of future upgrades.

The company also provided the Finnish Defence Forces with ground stations and communications terminals to support the airborne system.

Rob Smith, vice president of C4ISTAR at Lockheed Martin, said: ‘Working in unison with our customer, we provided an innovative system that fulfils their dynamic requirements. We worked with Finnish industry to maximise industry participation to ensure that the system can be maintained in-country.’

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